Nominating candidates: Grassroots unheard as RPO ignored again

Political parties currently finalising candidates for the January 7 parliamentary elections are disregarding both electoral laws and their own charters by not seeking candidate panels from the grassroots. 

A dozen grassroots leaders of the AL and Jatiya Party told The Business Standard that they were not requested to submit candidate panels to the party's central parliamentary board. 

Section 90b (iv) of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) dictates that the central parliamentary board of a party shall finalise candidate nominations considering panels prepared by members of the ward, union, thana, upazila, or district committee of the concerned constituency. 

The ongoing practice contradicts the legal provision established before the 2008 polls, which aimed to empower party grassroots in selecting parliamentary candidates, experts said. 

The Election Commission should take a proactive role to put a stop to this undemocratic practice, they said, adding that the parties are also breaching their own charter with the practice.  

In the 2008 election, the provision was mostly followed by AL and smaller parties. However, before the 2014 election, an amendment relaxed the provision, permitting the party's parliamentary board to select candidates from outside the panels proposed by grassroots units. 

The charters of both the Awami League and Jatiya Party also state that their grassroots shall recommend candidates, and the central parliamentary board of a party shall finalise candidate nominations. 

Including the provision in the party charter is a criterion for registration, and a political party's registration may be cancelled for violating it.

In this regard, Yusuf Humayun, a member of the AL advisory council and the party's 12th National Assembly Election Steering Committee, stated that the AL will conduct surveys at various stages to make candidate decisions. 

He also highlighted the party's year-long effort in candidate selection, incorporating grassroots recommendations. 

Jatiya Party General Secretary Mujibul Haque Chunnu shared that the party had received opinions from district committees for two to three candidates. The nomination committee would subsequently decide the final candidates, prioritising grassroots opinions. 

Trinamool BNP Secretary General Taimur Alam Khandkar told TBS that the party was directly distributing and collecting nomination forms individually. 

"According to the law, the panel should come first. Everything is being done according to the election rules," he said. 

Badiul Alam Majumder, secretary of Citizens for Good Governance, told TBS that some parties are engaged in nomination trade with money. 

To put an end to this, he urged the EC to enforce the provision by issuing notices to parties yet to finalise their candidates. 

He mentioned that any concerned citizen can legally file a case against a party violating this provision after candidate finalisation, and written complaints can be submitted to the EC. 

The AL's nomination paper sales closed on 21 November and its parliamentary board aims to publish the final candidate list by 25 or 26 November. The Jatiya Party and Trinamool BNP plan to finalise their candidates by 27 November. 

All parties are expected to complete candidate finalisation in the next few days, as the 30 November deadline for filing nominations for the polls approaches. 

What grassroot say 

Javed Jahangir Sohel, joint general secretary of Naogaon District Awami League, told TBS that the district has no role in recommending nominees; the central decision is final. 

Similarly, Al Raji Jewel, the secretary of Bogura AL, mentioned that no candidate list was sent or requested from the central office. 

Matlubar Rahman, the joint general secretary of Gaibandha AL, noted that there was no usual district meeting for candidate recommendations this time. 

In Sirajganj, however, three names were proposed and sent to both the district and central Awami League, according to a local leader. 

Ahsanul Haque Pintu, the joint general secretary of Rajshahi Metropolitan Awami League Committee, said that no recommendations have been made for party nomination from grassroots. 

Md Rakib Hossain, Jatiya Party general secretary in Lakshmipur, said the district had not submitted any candidate list or recommendations. Nasir Uddin, Member Secretary of Jatiya Party in Brahmanbaria, similarly noted that the district had not put forth any candidate recommendations, highlighting that the central party will centrally decide on the nominations.